The Chrysler Group delivered 64 examples of the awesome 2013 SRT Viper in July 2013, which is a slight decline from the 97 Vipers delivered in June. While those Mopar supercar buyers waiting for their local dealership to get more Vipers into their inventory will be disappointed to see the delivery number decline, the shipping process continues to be slowed by the painstaking quality control process. The Connor Avenue Assembly Plant that produces every new Viper has been churning out supercars at a rate of almost 200 per month each of the last two months as production continues to ramp up and with so many more Vipers being produced than being delivered – it is only a matter of time before we see Vipers heading to dealerships in much greater numbers.
On the year, the SRT brand has delivered 320 2013 Vipers and not counting July’s production numbers (which have not been released when this piece goes live), 674 Vipers have been produced. This means that there are at least 354 Vipers log jammed in the quality control process (plus the cars built in July) so if you have placed an order for a 2013 Viper – it shouldn’t be too long before it arrives to your local SRT dealership.
It will be interesting to see how sales (read: delivery) numbers for the Viper increase once the 2014 model year vehicles arrive later this year. You would think that the plant would speed up the quality check process to help clear room for the upcoming 2014 Vipers and once these cars are being shipped at a rate closer to the production rate – sales numbers for the new Viper could get up into the 200 unit per month range. With Chrysler expecting to sell around 2,000 per full sales year, the numbers will definitely need to rise quite a bit from the current average. Fortunately, the Viper is not a big profit margin vehicle so there is a good chance that the Chrysler Group bigwigs arent all that worried about Viper sales numbers.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
